GLOBAL MARKETS-Respite for commodities as dollar wilts, China bounces

Redacción de Reuters

5 MIN. DE LECTURA

* Brent oil stabilises above $50 a barrel after 5 pct drop
* Subdued day for European bourses, Wall Street seen down
0.2 pct
* Dollar softer after weak data, focus now on payrolls
* China stocks bounce 3 pct, copper and other commodities
firmer
* Aussie rises after RBA tones down currency strength
concerns
By Marc Jones
LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Investors got a day off from
commodity market turmoil on Tuesday, as oil prices steadied at
$50 a barrel after a 5 percent drop and metals and Chinese
markets were generally calmer.
However, European stocks reversed some of the
previous day's gains, Wall Street was expected to fall for a
third day and a preference for safety meant German
government bonds were back in demand.
The respite for commodities came as a relief
though and saw Brent oil, which has slumped more than 20
percent over the last month, climb more than 1 percent.
Copper, seen as a bellwether of global growth, rose
from a six-year low after Chinese stocks
rebounded by more than 3 percent in Asia. A weaker dollar
helped, after another bout of weak U.S. data on Monday and
before U.S. jobs data due on Friday.
The Canadian and Australian dollars, both
linked to raw materials, got lifts alongside emerging market
currencies like Russia's rouble, the South African rand
and Brazil's real.
The Aussie dollar was the biggest mover. It rose 1.25
percent to almost a two-week high of $0.7375 after the central
bank suggested it was more comfortable with the currency's level
following its slide.
Investors lengthened the odds of another cut in the 2
percent cash rate. Interbank futures <0#YIB:> now imply a 60
percent chance of a move by December, from 72 percent earlier in
the day.
"You have had a key shift from the RBA that they don't need
to intervene as strongly, so that has triggered a considerable
Aussie bounce," said John Hardy, head of FX strategy at Saxo
Bank.
"And the (U.S.) dollar view is just flat and we are just
waiting for payrolls on Friday. We have had a relatively hawkish
set-up from Yellen and co (that interest rates may go up next
month) but the rates market just doesn't believe it."
The dollar was down about 0.1 percent on the day to 123.90
yen as U.S. trading started. The euro was slightly higher
at $1.0958.
On European stock markets, French bank Credit Agricole
and German carmaker BMW were among the worst
performers after disappointing results. The recent drop in oil
prices weighed on energy stocks.
Shares in Greece, which had slumped 16 percent on
Monday when they reopened after closing for five weeks, also
fell a further 4 percent before a partial recovery.
DATA DEPENDENT
In Asian trading, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan made late gains. Chinese
shares rose for a third day, ending up more than 3 percent
. Japan's Nikkei stock index kept losses to
0.14 percent.
Beijing has taken numerous steps to support Chinese share
markets after they lost more than 30 percent of their value
since peaking in June. It announced a fresh crackdown on
speculative trading on Tuesday, but investors
were still cautious.
"The market is still very volatile ... investors are likely
to be quiet and see what the next step of the government will
be," said Patrick Yiu, a director of CASH Asset Management in
Hong Kong. "The overall market momentum is not likely to pick up
anytime soon and the economy in China is still very weak."
Fears of disinflation stemming from the rout in oil prices
has led investors to pare bets that the Fed will raise U.S.
interest rates as early as September.
Durable goods and factory data are due later and
investors are awaiting earnings reports from a batch of
companies that includes Walt Disney and Kellogg.
But Friday's employment data is key for markets. They are
expected to show the U.S. economy created 225,000 new jobs in
July, according to economists polled by Reuters. The
unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 5.3 percent.
"If we get some certainty about the strength of the U.S.
economy and the likelihood of policy normalization by the Fed,
and if a rate hike seems justifiable, that is positive for
sentiment ... because a lot of people have been bracing for
this," said Stefan Worrall, director of cash equities at Credit
Suisse.
(Editing by Larry King)